Japan’s Glaring Image Gap

In another indication of success for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in changing public sentiment, a Pew Research Center report shows that Japanese are much more optimistic about the economy than they were last year.

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South Korean conservative protestors burn pictures of Japanese Imperial army flags during an anti-Japan rally in Seoul on May 23.

But the same survey, released Thursday, also shows Mr. Abe has been less successful in changing sentiment outside Japan, with an overwhelming majority of the nation's closest Asian neighbors viewing Tokyo negatively for a perceived lack of atonement for its past military aggression.

The findings suggest that while Mr. Abe is making progress in changing perceptions at home over the economy with his growth policies known as "Abenomics," he still has his work cut out to change attitudes about Japan - and its wartime past - in China and South Korea.

The survey, conducted this spring, showed that 27% of Japanese respondents have a positive view of the current economic situation, compared with 7% a year earlier. While the figure might seem to stretch the definition of optimism thinly, Bruce Stokes, the Director of the Pew Research Center, told JRT that it was one of the more significant results of this year's survey alongside the Northeast Asian negative sentiment toward Japan.

"The Japanese are the most upbeat about the future among the advanced economies - you don't get numbers like this in Europe at all, there are high numbers in the U.S., but not nearly as high as this. It says to me that people are buying into Abenomics, but that means it also raises the stakes," Mr. Stokes said. "There are high expectations for this growth to happen and if Mr. Abe doesn't deliver, people are going to be disappointed."

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While support for Mr. Abe and hope for the future is on the uptick at home, Japan's neighbors find themselves more pessimistic about Japan's image.

The report showed 77% of South Korean pollees saw Japan in an unfavorable light, while a staggering 90% of mainland Chinese had a negative view of Japan. Disapproval for Japan's prime minister also hovered around 85% in both countries, the report indicated. The last time this particular question was asked in 2008, 69% in China and 51% in South Korea said they viewed Japan unfavorably. Different questions are posed depending on the main theme of the study in a particular year.

A key factor cited by 98% of South Korean and 78% of Chinese respondents for the negative sentiment toward Japan was Japan's failure to express sufficient regret for its past military aggression.

Tensions between Tokyo and its closest neighbors have also intensified during the last 12 months over territorial disputes, but this survey did not release data about sentiment regarding China and South Korea’s territorial rows with Japan over the sovereignty of disputed islands.

The survey shows a failure to apologize sufficiently to Asian neighbors is not widely felt in Japan, indicating a glaring gap in perceptions. About six out of 10 Japanese surveyed said that their country has done enough to apologize or doesn't need to apologize at all, and that Japan deserves more respect abroad.

The survey also showed that Southeast Asian nations feel differently about Japan in terms of atonement for past wrongs and its overall image. The results show that people in Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia - all occupied by Japan in World War II - are much more likely to feel that the past is behind them. Less than half those polled in the three countries said Japan had fallen short of making a sincere apology. In fact, around 80% surveyed in the three countries said they like Japan and see the nation in the most favorable light out of the seven countries surveyed.

Mr. Abe is also generally liked among Southeast Asian nations, the findings showed, although between 20% and 40% surveyed in the three countries said they did not know enough about him to give a concrete answer.

Mr. Stokes was struck by the rawness and scope of current sentiment regarding Japan's wartime past among its closest neighbors, adding that the report clearly indicates the issues the Japanese prime minister needs to tackle to improve Japan's image with its neighbors.

"Mr. Abe is in a unique position to deal with that wartime atonement that his predecessors haven't been willing to. He may choose not to do that, but our polls show that he is extremely popular, and this gives him room for maneuvering in regards to neighboring countries. He doesn't need to play the nationalist card to shore up his right wing base anymore," Mr. Stokes said. "Mr. Abe hasn't said whether he is going to go to the event at Yasukuni Shrine coming up on Aug. 15 to commemorate the end of World War Two, but this survey would suggest that he doesn't need to go to for domestic support gains--the country's with him already."